Art Doll Adventures

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Mon, 26 May 2008 02:11:00 +0000

Think Pink Gala!

Take a look at these wonderful dolls! They were the sample masterpieces for the participants in the weekend in Auroa, Ohio. To my delight, I got to go to the opening and say hi to the wildly creative and colored; EPB, hug Patti Culea my inspiration and former neighbor by the ocean, poke fun and enjoy grins with Barbara Willis, (he he! So good to see you Barbara!) and meet for the first time: Karen Shifton who delighted me with an amazing frog couple... (not at all pink...)

This... is how pink everyone was! As the pinkies arrived, they mingled amongst tables of fabric, patterns, delightful trims and beads and and Oh! I had to limit myself to one little bunch of green curls as I still have some bits of the studio to unpack and... well... Just trying to be good! Grin!

elinor looks a bit yellow, but that wealth of furry fuchsia locks makes up for any lacking of the rose in the rest of her outfit, I bet you will agree, eh? She has a great set of new patterns that will bring out the creativity in everyone!

Ohio is lookin OK to me as I hang with Mary Ann Hall (editor extraordinaire!) Patti, and Barbara.

A "sorry" goes out to the artist of this doll as I didn't get the name,
but she was my favorite pink doll with that one boob loosing altitude....

And this one is a Anne Hesse pattern done by Pam Rowe - I know its not pink, but just look at that face! And the Hair! (If you wonder, this is exactly how I look before coffee in the morning..) This is my favorite NON-PINK doll.

What a great hoard of talented artists! I am so glad to meet you all and thank you for welcoming me to my new home!

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Wed, 21 May 2008 03:13:00 +0000

Art Doll Quarterly is Great this month!

After yoga this evening, I went off to Borders book store... "hummmmm, gotta check... Oh, there it is, (gleeful grinning ensues...still ) my book, hum, and Patties is right next to it... Maybe I should go over and see if there are any doll mags I don't have" Of course there were, and several Photoshop goodies too!

ADQ is really great this month. Besides the wonderful article about Patti Culea revealing among other things, her humble beginnings in Feline Couture (farm feline to be exact) as well as stunningly colorful pages of beautiful photos.

Linda Apple's (she is a "Gilded Lilly Girl") wonderfully impish polymer clay beings are accompanied by an intriguing story... See Page 78. Shes another Buckeye, my new home state rocks with a wealth of doll makers - thank god!

There is a doll mobile, some great paper dolls, and sock dolls and as usual, a wonderful "show and tell' section. I really enjoyed the "veggie" dolls too! Bravo Staci!

Go to your book store and get it! Or, Here is a link to Amazon.com

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Sat, 10 May 2008 01:42:00 +0000

Finally!
I found the books I am supposed to review for Art Books Reviews (dot com) and the next one in the pile was Patti Culea's Creative Cloth Doll Beading. I am not really a beader... so I sighed "Oh... tedium, oh schemedum, oh little tiny bead-ium" but what I saw knocked that apathy right into a shocked puddle on the studio floor which was dangerously slick... what with all those beads all over the place!

Creative Cloth Doll Beading
Designing and Embellishing with Beads
by Patti Medaris Culea with Anne Hesse and Laura McCabe

* Beaded Tattoo's - what more can I say? How COOL!

* The collaboration of these three stellar dollmakers brings out the best in each artist.

* Great new Techniques for wings, hair, creative clothing and beautiful faces! Also... detailed directions on making flowers - WOW!

What a killer book! Patti gets some able assistance from two of the doll making worlds finest, Anne Hesse and Laura McCabe. Just as she did in the wonderful Creative Cloth Doll Couture, Patti provides one versatile doll pattern. This pattern is used by all three main artists and the many talented "gallery" artists, to create a flock of beautiful and unique dolls.

Patti does a chapter on flowers, making them look wickedly easy and raucously beautiful. Anne has the next chapter and with her two comrades, she leads us through a bead embroidered face, now THIS is exciting to me! Next Laura creates a "wood elf" and beads her leather garment with several cool techniques, my favorite being the bead stacking. Finally Patti returns at the end of the book and gives us "Franalizia of the North Sea" who has scales of beads, and a wealth of burned, melted and glued beading and embellishment techniques. She is a "Fairymaid" Upp you guessed it, a mermaid with wings, extremely clever!

Off to the right here... is my version of the beaded head... Ok, so I didn't draw the face onto the fabric and I didn't use a rubber stamp (tho this is a great idea!) , I basically didn't follow any of the directions, (tho they are great!) but I did get INSPIRED and I did LEARN about "Wedges", "Focal Beads" and "Fill Patterns". I also learned how to make fringe, and flowers and what a "bud" is. (this was welcome news to me as it associated with the "bezel" and I can't help but sit around snickering about "budding the bezel" or "bezelling the bud" - Yeah, just alittle easily amused... Ya think?!)

I highly recommend this book for us "regular folk" as well as the seasoned beaders. Hum, now where did my charolottes go, I need to do a basic bud on that bezel!

This would be a great gift! Shoot on over to Amazon and get your copy!

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Sun, 04 May 2008 03:12:00 +0000

It is Amazing...

How quickly one reality becomes another... One eventful and emotional month ago, I was getting on the plane with my pillow, laptop and sketch book after a tearful goodbye to my wonderful friends, a ta-ta to the weather of the Gods, and a so-long to my Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles aka: the unstoppable, immortal periwinkle blue Pathfinder. Now... I am unpacked and officially moved into my parents (their cat actually seems to own the house...) home and I am missing that car...

I am driving, dare I admit it... my coolness factor, so tenuous, is about to be smashed into oblivion... oh well... an Oldsmobile... an OLD Oldsmobile, a white, old, "Olds"... It is not mine. It is my dads and my dad, as you may have guessed, is from the Midwest, so he got a killer deal on the car. He is also... not young, so this car looks good with his white hair, and goofy grin. He can pull this car off with style... Octogenarian ladies bat their false eyelashes dangerously fast when we pull up to Fischers Grocery. I, on the other hand, have been a "not-Midwesterner" for quite awhile now and don't sport either that white mop or the stylin sweater vest... I grokked that I looked ridiculous driving up to the Starbucks in this geezer mobile so I did the logical thing... of course! I put flowers on the antenna!

I might be residing in the land of long grey patches and rich green, rain saturated afternoons, but I still have a bit of the Sun in my Soul! See Pix Below.

If you are interested in some cool doll books click here to see my list on Amazon: CLICKSTER

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 05:45:00 +0000

The Return of the Native!

Well everyone, we are on the move again... The dolls have been piling into boxes with the enthusiasm and precise organization of.. say... a herd of Mexican Jumping Beans! Here is Namba tickling the others to try to make a space to catapult herself into the cardboard!

The last time I moved, I called it Li's Big Adventure and it has been that for sure! What next? to serialize or not to serialize? Li's Big Adventure Take 2? Nah... um... The Return of the Native? Ah! Yes, I am the reluctant native and I am returning to Ohio - one of the best places in the world to be from they say... Anyway you might have noticed a lack of activity on the site which is due to hyper-activity in the moving arena. I just never imagined such a small space could hold so many many many boxes! I haven't found my phone before the 5th ring for weeks!

Enjoy the spring and make stuff - then after you make it give it away or sell it, just be sure its not in your house next time you have to move! - a word from the "wized-up" - packing fool that I am...

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:17:00 +0000

WOW!
Thats all I have to say!

The Cha Trade Show was spectacular! Patti Culea and I drove up to LA in her beautiful little eggplant PT Cruiser. There seem to be flocks of Cruisers in L.A. We got there early and stayed all day... allllll dayyyyyy, my brain was in monster overload with all of the possibilities! I wanted to buy everything - I mean, this is the succulent bliss bunny brain bath for creative people! How lucky we are to be living in this time... Imagine what Picasso could have done with Jaquard Paints, Those amazing Coptic Markers, all the glitter, the wax (I really want to expore this after my move) little colorful balls of wool, clays and and and... It was an artists dream come true... EXCEPT... you couldnt BUY anything! Bliss Bunny brain implosion - aweeeeee. Hah!

I finally got to meet the most-charming Mz. Mary Ann Hall, my editor, who was but a pixel away from reality all through the creating of the book. Somewhere there is a picture of Patti, Mary Ann and I grinning like cats. As soon as I get it, I will put it up here! I am delighted that she lives in Cleveland - close to my soon-to-be home - and plan to pester her her occasionally with more than emails... AH hah! Now I can just drive up there! Grin

Then there was the thrill of seeing the book up there with all of Patties... sitting there in all its very-blue glory. Quarry has an amazing range of beautiful books

I also met and lunched with another of my heroines, Sherrill Kahn. This wicked-creative artist is full of new ideas and smiles. She has a new book out on using permanent markers and alcohol - go get it! Magic with Markers for paper, Fabric, Wood, Metal, Plastic and Clay.

I didn't even notice how tired I was until we got into the car to go home... My feet... Oh... My... Feet!

Other News

I am moving! Yes I am leaving the beautiful people, (all 50 gazillion billion of them) leaving the beach and fog and high prices and well... Sniffle, I am leaving the beautiful weather and all of my wonderful friends for a new adventure in Ohio! My parents are needing alittle assistance and I am going to do my best to help out and lend alittle levity to their days!

Are you an artist in Ohio? Shoot me some advice!

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:16:00 +0000

WOW! The Cosmic Queens Day was a great Success!

What a thrill to be involved in this amazing day! Here is everyone in the audience, look at all of those dollmakers! The room was very large and easily fit the 31 creativistas that filled it.

We were all about faces on Tuesday, tho doll bodies and well... EVERYTHING you can imagine about cloth dolls... flowed from these talented dollmakers.

Here is my "station" A little hint of Africa in Escondido! I talked about making the "bush babe" and we played with De-constructing the face - gesso, garage sale stickers and scraps of fabric were our tools of choice.

Lee Jebreil with Barbra Chapman in the background applying some heat to her crayon encrusted face - Everyone did such an amazing job!

This is Staci Dumoski, the new managing editor of Art Doll Quarterly showing off her wonderful long-nose doll face in the making!

And here is the blue group - everyone had a snazzy name tag and on the tag was a colored star, they gathered around people of the same star-color and migrated from station to station in their star-groups.

elinor peace bailey gave the participants wonderful insight into creating a doll that speaks (as well as leading the meeting with humor, grace and more than a couple laughs!)

Here is her station before everyone got there, just look at all of those smiling faces! Elinor's work is truly ground-breaking on a continuous basis and she one of the most authentic, talented and colorful people I have ever met! A Heroine of Mine! I traded her an Art Doll Adventures book for a block of wonderful ZaZu fabric which she is selling on her site - always finding the newest and best she is! Some day I will get an epb doll of my very own! Grin.

(someone sent me this pix after the day and I just dropped it into the file of faces. I recently found out that it was snapped by Lauren Chong Sng! Great Pix Lauren! You can see her cool stuff at: http://www.abc-rags.com/index.html

Here she is with Barbara Chapman smiling for the camera. Look at Barbara's beautiful sweater (Barbara teaches at the black sheep in Encinitas and I guarantee you will emerge from her classes with awe and wonder and a bucket full of new techniques to add to your creative arsenal)

We had show and tell right before lunch and elinor was the MC. She really nailed her calling, this lady is a performer extraordinaire! and she made everyone feel great about their creations, Bravo elinor! What a talented group we had! Quilters, dollmakers both cloth and porcelain and many other crafty personages showed up to delight and inspire us.

Unfortunately, I was so busy for most of the day, that picture taking was greatly curtailed so I don't have pictures of the other stations, but let me assure you, they were beautiful!

Patti Culea got everyone making beautiful faces with colored pencils to go with her great stump doll pin cushion and pattern AND masterminded the whole day! WOW! this woman rocks! She is my hero in the book world and you should stop reading here and go get all of her books! Such a prolific lady and funny and generous and... well I don't want to sound "over the edge" but suffice it to say, I am delighted to call her friend and mentor!

Betts gave up a load of dollmaking secrets as only she can and Barbara Willis and Sally Lampi held forth on the mysterious (to me!) techniques of using moulds to create and cast faces. Barbara and Sally are two sides of the same coin, Barbara's Beautiful and elegant dolls on one side and Sally's hilarious characters on the other!

Where did this happen? At Bits and Pieces in Escondido, great shop with machines and fabrics galore - you really should visit and here is the address!

Bits & Pieces, Inc.
426 B W. 2nd Ave.
Escondido, CA 92025 USA
(760) 745- 5878
bitsnpieces@pacbell.net

It was defiantly a day to remember for all of us! Thanks to all that came and special thanks to the special teachers!

Here are the early morning queens, chatting away in hostess-Patti's bright and welcoming kitchen. She makes some killer muffins! (Hum... yes, its slightly out of focus because the one behind the camera (me) had not had enough coffee yet... not a morning person... nope, not me)

Make Dolls! Play! Create! and Smile Everyday! Blessings in the extreme to all from Li

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:49:00 +0000

HOLY MOLEY!

Well I came home this afternoon from yoga around 1:30 and suddenly its almost 8pm! What have I been doing all of this time? Oh, Just messing around... OMG this machine is really something special folks and it practically guarantees I will get nothing else done for at least a coupla days!

I figured out the interface pretty easily even tho NOTHING is Mac-Friendly! Not the CD, not the program, Nothin! And you all know where my steadfast loyalties linger! But, I am resourceful and thanks to my cousin Amy, I have a nice little ole' Toshiba which worked quite nicely for viewing the directions. Thanks Amy!

The directions are delightfully concise and accurate little movies nestled in an easy-to-use master page. By spending the afternoon viewing these, I figured out how to use the embroidery module, change stitches, and use all of the feet! and of course, make a list of all of the NEW feet I WANT! Grin!

SO! I love Bernina! I am sure that I have only touched the surface, so, well, I have to go now, uh, he (Uh-Huh, yes, its a He) is waiting! His name is Wesley and the Embroidery attachment is Inigo as in "my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die" A very persistent man who was deliciously facile with sharp tools.

Have a wonderful week! Make stuff and Play!

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Don't forget to visit: Art Doll Adventures.
and should you need graphic work, here is my website for that: LiHertzi Design

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 01:09:00 +0000

Come Play with the Cosmic Queens and me!

Come Join elinor peace bailey, Barbara Willis, Sally Lampi, Betts Vidal, Patti Culea and Li hertzi (me!) for a day of fun! Learn how each of these artists draw, sculpt, and color various faces. Each artist comes with her own unique way of doing faces. You will learn to make faces for dolls, wearables, quilts bookmarks, Atc's, fabric postcards or where ever you want to add personality!

Each person attending will receive a pattern from the artists showing her techniques for the faces she'll be demonstrating. After the morning lectures by the artists, and a light snack lunch, we'll spend the afternoon going from artist to artist watching demonstrations and experimenting with the supplies provided.

To register:
send checks to Patti Medaris Culea
9019 Stargaze Ave.
San Diego, CA 92129
patti@pmcdesigns.com

Bring:
Scissors, mechanical pencil, eraser, colored pencils, fine markers such as Zig Millenniums, Micron Pigma, etc. and something that you have made to share!

I look forward to meeting all of you wonderful, creative, San Diego people and playing dolls! Happy Christmas time!

ON ANOTHER NOTE

Well, I have been messing around with my sites due to the fact that several of my graphics clients were wondering what happened to my logos and what are all of these strange dolls. Grin!

So I have now created a site for art doll adventures here: Art Doll Adventures.

and should you need graphic work, here is my website for that: LiHertzi Design

Feel free to let me know what you think! Happy Day, LI

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:32:00 +0000

Teachers Reunion!

Wow! What an amazing weekend we had! The crew at Bernina really treated us to a bonanza of new and exciting machines, great teachers, wicked-inspiring artists and a whole lot of laughing! I was on the far right corner of the room with Patti Culea - my Mentor, Melinda Bowman, and Ellen Anne Eddy, (Mentor) Here is a picture of us all smiling at the end of the reunion

This was no sit-around-the-coffee-shop-leisurely-and-stitch retreat, NO WAY! we were busy being inspired and educated at every turn! And for me, having never touched an embroidery machine, it was simply magic! Here is a shot of my machine, beauty incarnate, eh?

This is where I was scalloping around! The 730 and 640 machines do WAY more than just embrodery - not that it wouldn't be enough in this case, as the complex stitchery possibilities seem darned infinite - they also sport the BSR foot that allows you to free-motion like a pro almost immediately (Almost...) and one of my favorite features... the foot pedal lift needle thingy (obviously not the real name!)

Most of you who know me, know that I am a Mac Fanatic, so you will be shocked to hear that I would consider purchasing the evil twin, the arch enemy, the plunder of pixels... the dreaded... PC! just so I could play with this machine!

What did we do when not playing with amazing machines... we ate...

and ate...

...and ate

One of the best things about this experience was meeting all of the wonderful and creative people that form the Bernina Family, below are some pix!

Colorado Girls!

Will the REAL Ellen please stand up! GRIN!

The Sunshine Girls!

Yes, only the BEST (GRIN) People use Macs!

Melida says "WOW this is so easy I don't even have to look!"

Yes! It was fun! Thank you to Bernina and Patti for inviting me!

On other news, I am now writing reviews for Art Books Reviews, a project nestled in the creative and capable mitts of Aisling d'Art. Some great artists are writing about these books in a bunch of categories including, Fiber Art, Wood, Metal, Yarn, Ceramics, Mixed Media, Collage, etc! Click on the link to see my review of Pattis Book and see one of the dolls I made under the Culea-Influence!

Li Reviews Patti's Creative Cloth Doll Faces Book

ENJOY, Make Dolls, SEW, and SMILE

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 07:20:00 +0000

Art Doll Adventurer in Juxtapoz... Again!

The ever-amazing Liz McGrath has an interview and lots of great pix in the December Juxtapoz. My Fav is "Trailer Beaver Monkey" a beaver with a charming mold-green patina, a belly-full of trailer-park nostalgia and a bow tie. Why do I love him so? Mostly because the list of materials from which he sprung is: Foam, clay, resin, fabric, wire, tar, acrylic and wood. Tar? hum. She is on page 113 of Art Doll Adventures with her fetching "Damsel of Darkness"

Here is the ad for her December show at Billy Shire, GO see it if you are around LA. The show looks great and I love the gallery, plus there are other galleries and Artsy happenin's galore in walking distance... well sorta, walking with really comfy shoes style walking...

I think this is her only book and I recommend it highly, if I am ever feeling in a funk, lost in my same-old, same old, I close my eyes, open the book, and find myself jolted right out of even the deepest doldrums... Go get it here!

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:06:00 +0000

The Fire Storm has subsided and we are now in the Ashy Air phase! Art Doll Adventures hails from Carlsbad California, which has been in the middle of the "Fire Storm 2007" since last Saturday. What an adventure!

Feel free to link back to my other blog to see my picture of the air on Sunday...
Click here for LI's Other Blog

I have been enjoying the Carlsbad City Library for its stellar collection of books, but really... more for the fact that cool, CLEAN, air flows freely through its quiet halls and over its comfy chairs... It also has free WiFi, what more can you ask for, eh?

Below you will find a post that I hesitantly put up on my other blog... It has a dark side and I know that some people are a bit put-off by that sort of expression. But this is a tribute to a dear friend, and I feel like it mixes art with reality in an especially rich way... so Voila!

This month I created a doll in honor of my friend Mari who committed suicide several years ago.

She was creative and funny, with a wicked New York City sense of deliciously sarcastic humor, an astounding skill for astrology powered by an affinity for channeling and a deep spiritual connection that might seem impossible to reconcile in someone other than Mari.

She was of Italian descent and whenever we were out together, I was amazed by the spell she cast over men and women alike. She was so tall! So solidly confident! I was furious with her for taking her life, mad because there were things I wanted to tell her, things we shared and laughter that danced around us when we talked about even the most grim of things! She loved to play solitaire on the computer and had once owned a bookstore. She lived in Taos and had a dress shop in the corner of the square that was full of sheer fabric and silk thingy-dos. Her favorite color was beige, she smoked and her fast little red car was always saturated in Benson & Hedges residue and littered with potato chip bags. She did sweet things to surprise you but if you crossed her, she shunned you for awhile... then shaking a finger in your face with a look that skewered you onto the wall of the present, noted that you might not have your priorities straight because they were different than hers! Hah! Then later, it was all OK. Mari changed her name from Lynn to Mari and Mari was better.

She was haunted by something fierce, deep and sharp, but many of us loved her dearly and felt blessed by her life, including me. Halloween Thanks Mari...

This doll was created with wire, paper clay, fabric, stuffing, gauze, Kreninik Metallic threads and the arms of a dollar store Barbie that are tied behind her back. Enjoy Halloween and create something that is a stretch for you, something that wakes you up to a slightly different way of looking at this rich and juicy life we have! Make Stuff!

Li's Art Doll Adventures Site
Li's Recommended Doll Books for Doll Artists

The book is still on sale! Go to Amazon with this easy-Parcheesi link and buy one!

Here are some Fun State about the book!

Text Stats

These statistics are computed from the text of this book.

Readability

Fog Index: 8.3 Grade Level USA

Flesch Index: 71.6 Easy/Moderate

Flesch-Kincaid Index: 6.4 Grade Level World

Complexity

Complex Words: 8% are complex

Syllables per Word: 1.4

Words per Sentence: 12.7

Number of

Characters: 134,987

Words: 23,018

Sentences: 1,814

Fun stats

Words per Dollar: 1,849

Words per Ounce 1,251:

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 23:18:00 +0000

"Art Doll Adventures" is on the JoAnn Fabrics top 30 list!

One of my absolute favorite places to spend money, JoAnn's, has been selling the book like crazy apparently, as it is on their top 30 list, at exactly 22! Such a wonderful, voluptuously, rounded number - Grin! Thank you everyone!

Want to see my homage to a friend in honor of the special spooky holiday... Halloween?
Go Here!

Have a wonderful week! Li

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:50:00 +0000

THANK YOU TO Soft Dolls and Animals for a great review!

Soft Dolls and Animals is a wildly diverse doll magazine! For instance, it has a great article by the creative and artsy Pamela Hastings who has mounted a 6 article series to explain how she designs her Art Doll creations. Then it has a much more traditional doll called 23" Sue, very cute with little button eyes and lace hemmed underpants! AND then a wonderful article about "teddies for tragedies" a group that sends crocheted teddies to kids in need.

Below is the review, Thanks Again! LI

"Finding meaning in your art is one thing: doing it for the fun of the creation is another. how do they go together? Making dolls inspired by cultural icons brings new meaning to your work and helps you connect with larger universal truths. Doll makers are very conscious of and interested in the history of the human/female figure and cultural icons, and often use them as starting points for their designs. Spirit dolls, African icons, goddess figures, and Hopi Katchinas are all popular forms. Using history as a starting point, Lisa-Li Hertzi has created five exciting doll projects, inspired by five very different cultural and historical icons/figures. Through the projects, she explores the creative process process, the meaning and significance of each figure, and teaches techniques that doll makers are currently experimenting with: journaling, collage, mixed media, and found objects. Each doll is presented as a step-by-step project with complete instructions, and is followed by a gallery featuring interpretations of the same cultural figure by leading doll artists. Fantastic full color illustrations and patterns by the author are included."

If you want to subscribe to Soft Dolls and Animals click this link! Right HERE for Animals and Soft Dolls!

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 03:47:00 +0000

You know how every family has a secret passion? Well, our secret passion is finding sharks teeth. The ancient kind, the tiny ones that have sifted through seas we can't even imagine... well maybe. Our family has bent double, craned necks and generally hunkered-over countless "black specks" that sure LOOK like a tooth only to find a nasty little scrap of seaweed! But sometimes it is just such a rich pleasure to find one that you keep looking... sorta like when you win alittle in the lottery? eh? Grin! Here stand the patriarch and mootreearch of the family consulting on a pocket-full of incisors on Edisto Beach in the Carolina's sometime in the very late 90's.

And this is our "Finders Keeper" Angel

Since teaching the Sugarplum scary class on Doll street, I have been playing around with non-fabric dolls! What fun to try new things! This one is wire, paperclay, floral tape, wire and... a very very very large... sharks tooth that I got somewhere between here and Colorado!

Two summers ago now, my friend Marty and I finally stopped at a quaint restaurant with a blue screened door. It was in the middle of terrain best described as desolate, barren, and with just barely a hint of sentient life much less marine life.

(I really needed coffee... Marty tolerated this stop, but she doesn't understand this brain-pummeling need, owing to her harmless herbal tea habit - What I really Needed was a Starbucks, something with a powerful de-nocturnalizing punch - I settled for a watery brew with powdered milk.) BUT there was alittle shop in the front of the restaurant and there were piles of sharks teeth, huge ones in little frayed plastic bags. "No way! These can't be real" I said to the lady at the cash register. She scoffed, "Where are you from, Caly-FORN-ya'? Of course they are real. This used to be the ocean! Everyone knows that" "Right" I said as I bought this one for my Finders Keeper. I reasoned that if it wasn't real, someone went to alot of work to make it look real, so it was worth the 3 dollars I found on the little sticker, faded from sitting there for the 10,000 years since the last wave... See it attached to her back instead of traditional wings? This angel is powered by the big tooth!

and here is a close up of her face with her beaded locks falling into her eyes.

Don't forget to join us for a great online class this month! Scoot down to the drawing on the post before this one to get the whole skinny and Join us for one of the best ways to capture your world! Drawing! To see some of my sketches from around Carlsbad beaches, go to my other blog HERE.

Click here to see more or sign up! Fall is here! Have a great weekend! Li

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 05:30:00 +0000

The Week of SMALL THINGS...

First of all there was the arrival of the MOO's based on the dolls I made for Art Doll Adventures! Yes, that was me dancing around the P.O., cavorting up to complete strangers chirping happily "Oh, WOW, look at these cool little cards! They are from ENGLAND, and look how tiny!" Most people were very interested as they couldn't help but be, I was behaving like a total loon! Still, a charming loon, a loon with free, tiny, cards to give away...

Moo.com is a Printing site that links with Flickr or other photo/art hosting sites and prints your art with no minimums! So I got 10 different designs with the same back. They are a tad expensive per piece (25¢ each) but they are way cool! I have already given half of mine away and I have only had them for 4 days!

And these are the stickers! Only $9.99 for a matchbook-like pad of little reminders of your presence! You can upload different pictures sized specially or make the stickers out of the same pix you use for your other items.

I thought the texture of the cards was alittle disconcerting at first. They have a nice matt finish... sort of... thick feeling... yes, it is growing on me...

The little cards are only 2 3/4" x 1 1/8" Just a perfect size to slip into your pocket and flick out to impress that handsome stranger or to trade with your friends! Please let me know right away if you decide to make some, I would love to trade!!!!! Make Some Here!

The other small thing that arrived in my week was encountered at Gee Gee's Stamps and Stuff in Carlsbad. A wonderful teacher Georgia Lichon taught the hows and what-nots of using Easy Cast Resin. See My Wildspirit Arts Blog for more words and below for a pix!

And Finally...

I am teaching a new drawing class at Doll Street

"I draw every day - sometimes I draw for work, always for play, sometimes it turns into something else, sometimes it sucks, rocks, just is, sometimes I love what I do, sometimes I show it off and sometimes I tape a piece of paper over it, then do another drawing on top - so it is my secret, sometimes I wad it up and sometimes it has a life of its own, sometimes it is just a way to pass the time, sometimes it is spying, sometimes it is to catch a moment or just make a pretty picture to occupy my mind until I can figure out what I am supposed to do next, sometimes a drawing becomes a doll, a pot, a shirt/skirt/crazy hat, sometimes it feels like I am getting better at it, sometimes not, sometimes after it, I see differently.

My plan is do this until I die."

As you see, drawing is a passion for me! As well as therapy, work and well... FUN! There is nothing as delightful as catching an exquisite moment on paper or being able to translate that creativity swimming around in your head into "reality." This class is designed to wake up those eyes and hands to the truth that you ARE already an artist and help you enjoy it!

You will learn the basics of sketching through Exercises, Sketch Notes, Loosen UPs, and Daily Draws. The Exercises will lead you through a "how to" of the drawing skill we are exploring in the chapter. The Sketch Notes are just like my doll class Sketch Notes, they will offer you ideas about the feeling, thinking, and writing around the subject. The Loosen Ups are fun little exercises that will make you laugh, loosen up and draw like a monkey, just kidding on that last one, but that's the idea! and Finally, the Daily Draws are the drawings you can choose to do every day. Daily Drawing nurtures your innate talent, gently evolving it into the eye/hand/observation/soul skills that will shine more sweetly through all of your work!

Click here to see more or sign up! Have a great holiday weekend! Li

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 17:05:00 +0000

Hommage to Susan Oroyan and Thoughts on ideas.

This is a sad post as Susanna Oroyan passed away recently. She was the author of many wonderful books on doll making and a wonderful artist herself, her creative spirit will be greatly missed.

Below is one of my favorite dolls of hers, entitled: Doll maker: Getting Ideas.

I like it because that is a question that I get all the time... "wow, Li, what were you thinking when you made THAT doll!" Well, the truth is that there really isn't thinking, its all about listening for me. This doll has little wire dolls dancing around her head making a hat-full of ideas and all the little doll maker has to do is listen and look! Right above this picture from the book: Designing the Doll, is the following text by Susanna.

"When we make these pieces we often have the feeling the thing is just appearing under our hands, and that the "I" part of us is not really connected to the process. The doing part is spatial; it is manipulating objects. It isn't usually a talking thing. If we are doing it right, we aren't thinking "I want," we are responding to what the piece wants us to do for it."

Her book Anatomy of a Doll sits on my sewing table next to The Art Spirit by Henri, and Art Students Anatomy by Farris, all equally tattered. I never met Susanna as I am a bit of a hermit in the doll world (Hope to remedy this soon!), but wish I had been able to say thank you to her for almost single handedly wrenching me out of my fascination with pancake dolls! Thank you Susanna! I send your sparkling spirit blessings from this world you graced so richly!

See Susanna's wonderful books!

Memorial info:

Eugene Doll Club has organized a memorial fund to first pay
for a memorial page in Doll News and secondly the surplus would go
to Tom Oroyan to help defer expenses.

Please send any donations in care of
Judy Parmenter
Eugene Doll Club
96494 Hwy 99  W
Junction City, OR 97448

On a happier subject! Go here to see Stephanie Novatski's wonderful doll she made after getting Art Doll Adventures!
Way Cool Girl! Look at that beaded face everyone, beautiful! You mention that this was out of your personal box, but I would say you are a natural ART doller!

http://www.novasblossoms.blogspot.com/

Also, if you are interested in Drawing, I am teaching beginning drawing again on Dollstreet, please have a look at the ad and join us! Drawing is fun! It will change the way you look at the world and make stuff... I guarantee it! Grinning, LI

http://www.dollstreetdreamers.com/LiDrawingAD.htm

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 22:15:00 +0000

Great Review from Quilting Arts' Barbara Delaney

This month Quilting Arts Magazines' cover is festooned with a beautiful cardinal perched on a branch with a sunflower of tantilizing brilliance and every page is something that easily tempts me away from less colorful tasks... (you know, say... the dishes, or cleaning the fish tank...) wonderful stuff. This is the August/September issue and also contains a wonderful review of Art Doll Adventures on page 90 and pictured above. Thank you to Quilting Arts!

If you are interested in purchasing this magazine search out your favorite quilt or book shop or visit them on line at: http://www.quiltingarts.com and to see the cover go here: Cool Cover

Have a great week, LI

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 01:10:00 +0000

As you can see from the video, SugarPlum Scary is in love! But what is that creature she is sidling up to? Make Sugar and Her Friend in our new class: Sugar Plum Scary on Doll street starting on the 30th of July!

This is a great class for dollmakers without sewing machines or creatives who want to jump safely into the delicious and exciting world of creating dolls!

To learn more and sign up, go to dollstreet dreamers! (link below) I hope to see you there!
http://www.dollstreetdreamers.com/sugarplumscaryAD.htm

Also, If you have purchased my book: Art Doll Adventures: Exploring Projects and Processes through Cultural Traditions and have any thoughts or questions, I will be happy to address them in this class!

Enjoy the summer as it prances lightly around the sun, Li

Get the book!
View Li's other patterns at Wild Spirit Arts!

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:52:00 +0000

I am finally back from my 4 week long, bi-coastal, family, summer vacation. I am still in the excitement phase with the book and during my trip, I drug various family members to book stores and bounced loudly around the craft section. Finally Ben (twin nephew) rolled his eyes and said something like "quick, put a towel over Aunti Li's head, there's a Borders on the right!"

I will bore you with the details here on this site devoted to the details! The first sighting was at the Borders in North Canton, Glorious and Green, OHIO. Here is Mootie (my mother and the Judi Hertzi who did the doll on page 82) in front of the imposing façade.

Oh Look! There it is on the “official” site in the store! More grinning and general unrestrained gleefulness.

Of course we searched all around and couldn’t find it… “Oh Dear! Its not here” I wailed “maybe someone bought it” countered Mootie in her most calming croon. We found an able assistant and she found it right away under “toymaking”.

“Look! He he, there is is, oh boy, oh boy!

A nice man from Poland* (named Jarek, you just don't meet that many Jarek's in Canton!) noticed the hub-bub and took pictures of us together - we tried to get him to buy the book for his wife, but he wasn't sure she could stand one more crafty project! Don't we know about that!

Here she is showing him her doll on page 82. It is titled "yak, yak" which we were doing happily and with abandon!

We spied a lovely end-cap with one spot unfilled... hum, it is right by the top! Perhaps this would be a better place for the book, Ah Yes, Well, would you look at that! Lovely!

Massive thank-yous to everyone who sent me emails! I cant wait to see your dolls!

NOW if you have nothing to do this summer and like the wickedly creative, Elizabeth McGrath (page 113 in the book, aren't I shameless?), don't want to sew, I am offering a mini class called "Sugar Plum Scary". This is a completely Sewing Machine Free, two sided doll that will allow you to explore the dark and the light side of... well... almost anything!

To learn more, go to dollstreet dreamers! (link below) I hope to see you there!
http://www.dollstreetdreamers.com/sugarplumscaryAD.htm

Enjoy, Draw, Sew, Grin! Li

*In the first publish of this post I mistakenly identified Jarek as a German... This was his reply which I am publishing here, because it made me laugh out loud. " Oh Lisa Lisa... Jarek from Germany? Because of blue eyes and 6+ feet tall?? I am Pollack from Polska, 100% Polish vegetarian kielbasa, nicht Deutsch :-P" Hah, very vegetarian! Grin!

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 22:08:00 +0000

Art Doll Adventures goes on Holiday

Well, in Canton, Ohio there is a Borders employee who is probably still rolling her eyes after the visit of Judi and Li! My first book siting at a bonified, real life store was very fulfilling, very exciting and very emotional! Ah what saps Judi-Mootie and I were - all teary-eyed and snappin shots like drunken toursitas at the grand canyon! There it was right next to Patti's face book, and... well... we thought it might look better...uh... under the sign that said "Cool Crafts" so we spied an open space and put er' there. I took a ton of pictures but my sisters wifi seems to be unable to see my laptop so I will have to post this sans pix. Needless to say, It was thrilling!

ENJOY! CREATE and grin! LI

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 00:43:00 +0000

FTSA (First Time Author Syndrome) and Art Doll Adventures

Kondi and Namba are sitting on a pile of Art Doll Adventures, a PILE! How Thrilling is that! Kondi is telling the Namba about when he had to take LI to the hospital after the box of books was picked up from the PO.

Fade into scene in doctors office, Sounds of Struggle, Smell of tongue depressors..

Doctor Thread Count: WOW! I have seen balls shoot 4 or 5 feet, but these peepers shot right out of her head and I can't find them anywhere! Nurse, quick, get the eyeball locator, (EBL) we have a bad case of FTAS! Stet!

Nurse Single Needle: Wow! Doctor Thread Count! This is a bad one, I better hold her down while you locate the eyeballs!

Doctor Thread Count dashes around the room with the eyeball locator (EBL) blinking and beeping feebly.

Doctor Thread Count: Nothing yet, how is the patient?

Nurse Single Needle: You better Hurry, I don’t know how long I can keep her away from that pile of books! Oh Please Hurry!

The Doctor points the EBL towards the open window and suddenly it emits a screeching yell and a Disco Light shoots out of the back and begins pulsing annoyingly.

Nurse Single Needle: Oh NO!

The doctor runs to the window! Looks out and sees the Doorman, Rusty Pins, holding the eyeballs and looking up in that piercing way of his.

Doctor Thread Count: Rusty! Throw those peepers up here right now!

Rusty Pins pitches the peepers to Thread Count who runs over to the patient and pops said peepers into place.

Patient Li: “woowoooowowow what happened, I feel so... Uh.... Hey! Where are those books? I must see them, oh all piled up, beautiful and and and...

Single Needle: "Oh no ya don’t!, you stay right there, we are going to stay away from the books for a little while until you learn how to control the FTAS... It should be over soon, just relax... Relaxxxx relax, here maybe this will help"

Nurse Single Needle carefully hands the patient a copy of Websters Unabridged.

Doctor Thread Count: "Good Job Nurse! She will be fine in a coupla weeks"

Finis

I am sure you can guess.... I got the books! How about the rest of you? What do you think?
Email me with your thoughts! lihertzi@lihertzidesign.com

Happy Day, LI

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:28:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone who has been writing me!
I love that the book is creating grins, my true goal, you know, is to facilitate frequent grinning.

Perhaps, all you serious authors out there are thinking, "well, she certainly is not taking this seriously, look at all that friggin grinning...” Ah, this glee is very serious business, yes, indeedy!

Enjoy! LI Hertzi, Ffg (facilitator of frequent grinning)

P.S. This is my Boulder Goddess Pattern created with an flossy grin. If you are interested in the Boulder Goddess pattern pop on over to Dollmakers Journey: http://www.dollmakersjourney.com/hertzi.html, (she's towards the bottom) or your favorite web vendor and thanks!

noreply@blogger.com (li) — Wed, 23 May 2007 18:02:00 +0000

The day gets closer and closer! Here is the final cover

Here is the little blurb the Publishing Co wrote about it. Stay tuned for info and updates!

Art Doll Adventures
Exploring Projects and Processes through Cultural Traditions
Lisa Li Hertzi
Doll-making inspired by cultural icons

Finding meaning in your art is one thing; doing it for the fun of the creation is another. How do they go together? Making dolls inspired by cultural icons brings new meaning to your work and helps you connect with larger universal truths. Doll makers are very conscious of and interested in the history of the human/female figure and cultural icons, and often use them as starting points for their designs. Spirit dolls, African icons, goddess figures, and Hopi katichinas are all popular forms.

Using history as a starting point, Lisa-Li Hertzi has created five exciting doll projects, inspired by five very different cultural and historical icons/figures. Through the projects, she explores the creative process, the meaning and significance of each figure, and teaches techniques that doll makers are currently experimenting with: journaling, collage, mixed media, and found objects. Each doll is presented as a step-by-step project with complete instructions, and is followed by a gallery featuring interpretations by leading doll artists of the same cultural figure. Fantastic full color illustrations and patterns by the author are included.

Lisa-Li Hertzi is a professional illustrator, graphic designer, and artist, and runs the art department for Squadra Inc. USA. She is known for her eclectic line of cloth doll patterns, ranging from the Boulder Goddess which is based very roughly on the Venus of Willendorf, to Lilly, a Feisty cowgirl to the EarthSky Man, who was inspired by a raft trip down the Colorado River. She is a popular teacher, using both her patterns and classes to explore art, science, history, the figure, color, and more.